Internal combustion engines equipped with fuel filters have found wide use in many applications throughout the world. In cold climates, however, operation of such engines is sometimes difficult. One area of particular difficulty has been the freezing of fuel in the fuel filter, resulting in the cutoff of fuel supply to the engine.
One prior art attempt to address this difficulty is enumerated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,329,231, granted to Hoffman et al. on May 11, 1982. Hoffman et al. provides a thermally insulating fuel filter cover which slips over the fuel filter of an engine. While this invention partially addresses the problem of freezing fuel filters, major drawbacks inherent in the device limit its widespread application.
First, since the fuel filter cover slips on, it is also liable to slipping off. This slippage may occur such that the vehicle operator is unaware of its occurrence and thus believes his fuel filter is protected from cold when it is not. This situation could result in freezing of the unprotected fuel filter. In addition, the presence of a loose fuel filter cover in the engine of a vehicle is a hazard to the operation of that vehicle, since interference with other parts and/or fire could be the result. Second, because space is provided between the fuel filter and the cover in the invention of Hoffman et al. fuel may become disposed in this space, thus detracting from the insulating qualities of the cover and possibly freezing between the cover and the fuel filter.
The present invention solves this problem and many others associated with the prior art.